1. وَقاكَ اللَهُ مِن غَلَبِ الرِجالِ

    وَصانَ حِماكَ مِن غَضَبِ اللَيالي

    May God protect you from being overpowered by men,

    And preserve your domain from the wrath of nights.

  2. وَدامَت مُبتَدا فِكرِ الأَماني

    ذَراكَ وَمُنتَهى شَدِّ الرِحالِ

    And may they remain the starting point of hopeful thought—

    Your heights—and the goal for which saddles are bound.

  3. وَدُم يَهدي الهِدايَةَ مِنكَ رَأيٌ

    عَرَفنا مِنهُ إِضلالَ الضَلالِ

    And may you live on, your judgment guiding guidance itself;

    From it we have learned how error itself is led astray.

  4. سَماؤُكَ دونَها حَرَسٌ شَديدٌ

    وَشُهبٌ في سَماءٍ مِن عَوالي

    Your sky has a mighty guard beneath it,

    And shooting stars in a sky of tall lances.

  5. إِذا ما السَعدُ فاتَكَ عَن سَعيدٍ

    كَفاهُ السَعدُ تَجريدَ النَصالِ

    When fortune strikes on a fortunate man's behalf,

    Fortune spares him the unsheathing of blades.

  6. فَقَتلاهُ تُقَدُّ بِلا قِتالٍ

    وَأَسراهُ تُقادُ بِلا حِبالِ

    So his slain are cut down without combat,

    And his captives are led away without ropes.

  7. يَقولونَ العُداةُ أَتَت سُيولٌ

    فَقُلتُ السَيلُ أَخبَرُ بِالجِبالِ

    They say, 'The foes have come in torrents.'

    So I said, 'The torrent knows the mountains better.'

  8. إِذا جَرَتِ السُيولُ عَلى رِمالِ

    فَما عُقبى السُيولِ عَلى الرِمالِ

    When torrents flow over sands,

    What, then, becomes of the torrents upon the sands?

  9. سِلاحُ الرَأيِ مِن جَلٍّ وَدِقٍ

    لَدَيكَ فَمِن عَوالٍ أَو نِبالِ

    The weaponry of judgment, great and small,

    Is at your disposal—whether tall lances or arrows.